Tony Jimenez

Entrepreneur

Tony Jimenez started his working career in local government, qualifying with the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy - he occupied many senior positions including Director of Finance during a 10-year career in Local Government
In the 1990￢ﾀﾙs, Tony turned his attention to property development with a focus on the UAE market. As Director of the Hexagon project, he spearheaded the early development of the DIFC (Dubai International Financial Centre) where he led negotiations and plans, which produced in excess of $100m in profits for the company.
In 2000, Tony pursued his keen sporting interests, forming Casa Sports with leading QC, Jim Sturman. Optimising his connections, Tony closed several high-profile sports deals and secured substantial investments into several of Dubai￢ﾀﾙs landmark projects, including Palm Island.

His strong relationships within the UAE - built up over the past 22 years - have been responsible for a number of leading Arab investors making significant investments in Europe. As Vice Chairman of Newcastle United Football Club, Tony was instrumental in negotiations to sell the club to the Dubai government. While the deal was not finalised due to the club owner changing his mind, Tony was nonetheless indispensable when it came to introducing potential buyers and leading negotiations.

A resident in Cyprus since 2003, Tony was involved in JV plans with the island￢ﾀﾙs Petrolina Corporation to develop 8 kilometres of prime beachfront property that included 5-star hotels and deep harbour marina facilities. He is currently working alongside the council of Larnaca to identify and promote development opportunities in the area and secure investment funding to realise these long term projects.

In 2010, Tony acquired a majority shareholding of Charlton Athletic Football Club in the UK￢ﾀﾙs League One division. Since Tony￢ﾀﾙs stewardship, the club has been quickly promoted to the Championship division. Tony￢ﾀﾙs business interests also extend to football clubs in Cyprus and Spain.
Tony is particularly accomplished in identifying development opportunities, which produce significant returns in relatively short periods of time ￢ﾀﾓ this is mainly through acquiring significant planning gains. Work for his Family Trust has led to a significant investment portfolio of prime worldwide property and assets.

The Family Trust assets include a major shareholding of the 1,800-acre Les Bordes estate in the Loire Valley, France. The main golf course on the estate has been voted Europe￢ﾀﾙs number one course for the last four years, and in December 2009, Tony and his team were granted planning permission for 3.8 million square feet of construction, to build a landmark resort. This is currently the largest residential development in Europe.
A prolific and successful entrepreneur, Tony was co-chairman of the Variety Club and he has also sponsored numerous golf charity events in France, Cyprus and Spain. Tony is a keen golfer, paddle player and shoots regularly - he is President of the holding and operating companies of Les Bordes Golf International.

Let's face it, West Ham are going nowhere fast with his approach to football. There is no long term strategy here, and the fans are ridiculed and criticised for daring to want more... by bullishly clinging on to a bygone era, Allardyce is damaging not only West Ham and the Premier League, but the English game as whole.

It's time that other clubs - and particularly owners - began taking a stand too. Modern-day football is crying out for a dose of common sense, and unless those involved unite to bring this madness to an end, then the game will continue to go to rack and ruin.

The Spanish giants announced his signing, subject to medical, yesterday, at a cost of around £75million. A move to Spain is one which Suarez has long hankered after, so maybe his action was less career suicide, more cunning strategy.

England's barren spell in top-level competition drags on even longer... If they are ever to climb out of the mire of mediocrity they currently find themselves drowning in, then it is high time for wholesale changes - from top to bottom.

The changing face of our game currently bears some very ugly scars - and until we wrestle back control from the current representatives of this odious organisation, it will never be quite as beautiful as it once was.

We now stand less than two weeks away from the beginning of what is being billed as one of the greatest World Cups of all time. As the pre-tournament excitement builds with every passing day, all talk turns to which side has enough quality, focus - and not to mention a little bit of luck - to lift the famous trophy.

The big boss has been quoted as complaining that the English game is too conservative, and requires a radical approach in order to shake it up - and, in some ways, he should be applauded for adopting such a brave attitude. But, having studied the details of his proposal, I really believe that he is backing the wrong horse in this case.

t's an oft-used cliché, but, with an exciting and honest style of play, Gus is one of football's good guys - and will become an even more desirable commodity in world football. What odds on him one day representing England himself? It can surely only be a matter of time before the bigger clubs - or indeed the national team - come calling.

Chelsea welcome Atletico Madrid to Stamford Bridge this evening to play out the second leg of their respective semi-final ie - and, following a dead heat in the first meeting, both sides still have it all to play for.

And just like that, it is finished. It's been a nightmarish and arduous 10 months in the Old Trafford hot seat for David Moyes, and, having served up a feast of failure during his time in Manchester, it is perhaps fitting that the all-powerful United deities chose Easter weekend to publicly sacrifice their 'chosen one'.

Last Sunday's thrilling 3-2 win against Manchester City saw the Anfield club win a lot of new fans due to their brave and brilliant style of play, and the prospect of title glory is quickly becoming a very real possibility for Liverpool fans.

It took 70 long minutes, via a missed penalty from David Villa and a few hairy defensive moments, for Diego Simeone's side to finally edge ahead of their opponents on Friday evening - and those three points leave the hosts sitting pretty atop the table at Easter.

Another day, another predictable public relations disaster for FIFA. With this summer's World Cup now just a matter of months away, and Brazil's preparations still lagging alarmingly behind schedule, the governing body has hardly covered itself in glory of late.

After watching his side systematically dismantled at home to Liverpool at the weekend, David Moyes must be wondering if his tenure at Old Trafford could be any worse. Unfortunately for him, come Thursday morning, it definitely could - and it likely will. As United lick their wounds following that 3-0 humiliation inflicted by their fierce rivals, their Champions League status also hangs finely in the balance.

Based on England's most recent performance, they are certainly going to need a hefty slice of fortune if they are to reach the knockout stages of this summer's World Cup. That underwhelming 1-0 defeat of Denmark last week was an outing which raised left us with more questions than answers.

The stage was set. The headlines were all but written. It was supposed to be an historic announcement with positive and profound implications for the future of Cypriot football. But instead, last week turned out to be yet another blot on the copy book of the island's national game.

The pair are locked in a long-standing personal duel which stretches back to their time at Inter Milan, when they occupied the San Siro hot seat in direct succession to each other. As Mourinho celebrated a famous treble win during his second season in Milan, Mancini complained that his Portuguese successor was taking undue credit...

Following Guardiola's decision to step down at the end of the 2012 campaign, Gerardo 'Tata' Martino now occupies the Blaugrana dugout - and the club find themselves level-pegging with rivals Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid at the top of the Spanish Primera División.

The end of the January transfer window is now in sight. As we approach the final straight, players and clubs the world over are gearing up for a full throttle, frantic finish - but, ultimately, it is the football agents and advisers who are in the driving seat. They are currently enjoying an ever-increasing amount of influence and power - and in my opinion, that is a development which must be curtailed, for the good of the game.